Not Quite So Picture Perfect
by WriterAtHeart14
Summary: Mike never really thought about what it'd be like when his mom met El for the first time, but he especially didn't think it would involve looking at baby pictures of him. ONESHOT!


**A/N- I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS! **

**Hey guys! **

**So, I thought of this lil oneshot the other day while watching Stranger Things 3. It's not the best thing I've ever written, but it's my take on how El acquired the polaroid of Mike from season 2. **

**I hope you all are doing well, and whatever holiday you do or do not celebrate, I hope you have a good week and enjoy the oneshot!**

* * *

It was a day like any other for the two of them. After the Snowball, both Mike and El had practically insisted on seeing each other more, even if it could only be in the security of each other's homes. At first, Hopper was adamant about them meeting _only _in the cabin and this was only after he'd instructed Mike thoroughly on how to get to the cabin, and how he should always take a different route, being very careful to make sure that absolutely no one was following him. And for a while, it worked.

Mike and El would spend countless hours in the Hopper cabin, whether it be in the living room, planted on the couch switching off between Mike showing El all of his and the Party's favorite movies and El showing Mike all of her favorite soap operas. If they weren't watching movies, they were in El's room talking for hours on end; Mike telling El stories of the Party over the past year, always stopping to explain if El got confused and El telling Mike all that had happened between Mr. Clarke's classroom and their reunion in the Byers' living room. As time went on, their relationship progressed, gradually turning into what Hopper began calling "non-age appropriate kissing."

Although he still would've preferred to keep a watchful eye not only on El but also Mike considering he was clearly the bad influence here, he also became tired of watching this happen every single day, so he eventually agreed to allow them to hang out at Mike's house, as long as they both agreed to adhere to a curfew.

While Mike was naturally very excited about this (they both were), Mrs. Wheeler's excitement almost caused him to dread the first time El coming over all together. She was embarrassingly excited, and she was making way too big of a deal that this was his first girlfriend, let alone the fact that this was the first girl he was bringing home. But no matter what happened, he just hoped she wasn't too overwhelming for El to handle. Even though El could handle inter-dimensional demons and evil government agents, he knew that she wanted to make a good impression on his parents, and he knew she'd be nervous about it.

Finally the day came, the first time El would come over with his parents' knowledge. Hopper dropped her off, and after making Mike promise that they would not leave the house, he left. Mike brought El inside, only to be met with Mrs. Wheeler.

"You must be Mike's girlfriend!" she greeted excitedly.

A smile immediately spread across El's face, while Mike tried to hide his face as he blushed. "Mom, this is El. El, this is my mom."

"El, that's such a pretty name! It's so nice to finally meet the girl who's been taking up so much of my son's attention," Mrs. Wheeler said, giving Mike a look.

"_Mooom,_" Mike groaned.

"It's nice to meet you too," El said, smiling at the woman. She knew Mike didn't always appreciate his mother and her nosey tendencies, but El found it rather amusing.

"I never got to ask Mike, how did you two meet?"

El's eyes widened as she glanced at Mike, who looked equally as shocked. He hadn't expected his mom to ask that question and he mentally kicked himself for not thinking about this sooner. It wasn't as though he hadn't lied to his mom before, and it wasn't that he was necessarily against it, but any lie he could think of would only cause more problems. "Uhh Mom, why don't you show El around the house?" Even though he knew El had pretty much seen the whole house during her time staying with them that fateful week two Novembers ago, he figured it'd be a good way to distract his mom from the question neither of them could answer.

"Sure, follow me, El," Mrs. Wheeler said, gently guiding El toward the living room.

El shot a frantic look over her shoulder at Mike, which Mike could practically hear in his head: _What if she asks more questions?! _

Before Mike could think too much about it, he suddenly felt himself being pulled forward as if his feet had a mind of their own. He was confused a first, trying to fight his own feet to stop moving, but it wasn't until they led him to the living room where El and his mom were sitting did he see El quickly wipe her nose, glancing up at him as he sat on down next to her on the couch.

He glanced down at her hand and then looked back at her.

She tried to move her hand in an attempt to hide the blood from him, but instead he grabbed her hand, covering it with his own. Not only was he trying to hide the blood from his mom-because then she really would ask questions-but this way he'd be able to remind her that he was still right next to her.

It turned out however, that El wasn't the one who needed any kind of comforting. Mrs. Wheeler's house tour seemed to take a major detour in the living room, when she decided to pull out the family photo albums. Although it began as Mrs. Wheeler showing El pictures of Mike's sisters and his father, it quickly turned into Mrs. Wheeler highlighting every embarrassing photo of Mike that existed.

"This is from Mike's sixth birthday party, wasn't he so cute? Oh and this is from his fifth birthday when he and Will ran around in their diapers!"

_"Mom!" _Mike groaned loudly.

El giggled as she looked intently at each picture Mrs. Wheeler had to show her. She loved seeing Mike as a baby, and then as the pictures went on to see him get older and older. She couldn't understand why he'd be embarrassed about any of these. She thought he was even cuter now than he was then.

"These were all back when Mike smiled in pictures for me," Mrs. Wheeler told El. "Now I can hardly get him to take a picture, let alone smile."

"Mom seriously, this is embarrassing," Mike said as he tried to take the photo album away from his mother.

"Mike, stop," El giggled, pushing his hands away. "I think it's...cute."

Mike paused in his efforts, but his cheeks remained tinted a light shade of red, as his mother continued to explain the memory behind each picture of him in the album.

As they got closer to more recent pictures, one in particular caught El's attention. "What's that from?" she asked, pointing to a picture of Mike in a Ghostbusters' jumpsuit. True to Mrs. Wheeler's word, Mike was grimacing at the camera.

"That's from last Halloween," Mike said, looking at the Polaroid from over her shoulder. "The Party went as the Ghostbusters."

"G-Ghostbusters?" El asked, looking at Mike confusedly.

"Yeah, like the movies," Mike explained. He wasn't sure if that necessarily clarified it for her, but to keep his mother from asking questions he went on, "We'll have to watch them sometime."

"You looked so cute in that costume," Mrs. Wheeler sighed. "But I couldn't get you to smile!" she joked.

Although she wasn't sure exactly who the "Ghostbusters" were, El did remember that night rather well. "Can I...can I have this picture?" she asked, looking up timidly at Mrs. Wheeler.

A smile slowly spread across the older woman's face, as she carefully plucked the photo off the page and handed it to El. "Sure you can, sweetie."

El smiled, and it made Mike's heart beat faster. His embarrassment had subsided, and even though he still thought the photo was slightly humiliating the fact that El wanted it was adorable, in his opinion.

* * *

"Can I ask you something?"

It was later on in the day, when Mrs. Wheeler finally left them to start making dinner. Mike led El to the basement and they had been sitting downstairs, sifting through Mike's comic books, when he stopped suddenly.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking up at him. She sat curled into his side on the couch, his arm comfortably wrapped around her.

"Why did you want that picture?"

"I remember that night," she told him.

"But that was before anyone knew you were in Hawkins," Mike said, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What happened that night?"

"I...spied on you. Because I missed you," El explained. "When I walked up to you, you-"

"I saw you," Mike realized. "Or at least, I sensed you. I _knew _it was you."

She nodded. "I reached out to touch you and you...you disappeared."

"You don't think I'll still...disappear do you?"

El shrugged. "Sometimes."

He pulled his arm away as he turned to face her. "You don't need to worry about me ever leaving you, El. Nothing will ever change between us, no matter what."

"How do you know?"

The question left him slightly speechless. He knew his answer, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to say any of it out loud yet. He'd never admitted his true feelings for El to anyone. As sure as he was, he wasn't sure how El would take it. What if she didn't feel the same way? What if it scared her? "I already lost you once," he said finally. "I can't lose you again. Not if I can help it."

"Promise?" she asked, looking up at him.

Mike picked up the polaroid. "You know I really did hate taking this picture," he told her. "But I think I'd rather you have it than anyone else. So now even when I'm not with you, you can have this. No matter how ridiculous I look." Mike shook his head at the memory. "I promise."

* * *

**A/N-So... it was a little cheesy. The ending isn't the best at all, but I really wanted to get something out there for you guys. I can't promise a full story anytime soon, so the occasional oneshot will have to do. **

**But please, please, please leave a review! And happy holidays! **


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